Project: SPARTAN-II
by Spartan117FreelancerWashington
Summary: Story about the Spartans; from many different 1st person POVs. I don't own Halo, or it's characters. I only own my OCs. Rated T because it's Halo, and may contain T-rated stuff.
1. Chapter 1

YEAR: 2517

**JOHN-117**

"John? Where are you? Johnny-Boy!" my mom called.

I stifled a giggle, clutching my legs closer to chest as I hid under the kitchen table.

I saw my mom's slippered feet enter the kitchen. She walked toward my hiding spot, and lifted the red-checkered tablecloth.

"Found you!" she exclaimed, and I crawled out from under the table. She scooped me into a hug, and then said, "We got to go to school soon, honey-bun."

"Awww! I don't want too!" I pouted.

"Don't you want to show your friends your new spaceship that you got for your birthday?"

I thought about it. I had just turned 6 over the weekend, and my parents had given me a wooden model of a light frigate. "Ok," I said, "But then can I have ice cream when I get home?"

She released me from her hug, and said "Sure. We can go to the dairy bar once you get off the bus."

"Yippee!" I said, excited. I hurried about, getting my school clothes on, eating the breakfast my mom got out for me, brushed my teeth and my hair, and then grabbed my small, ordinary black backpack, after making sure my homework was on my folder, and slipping it on.

"I'm so proud of you!" my mom said as she led me to the bus stop, "You did everything, and I didn't have to remind you! My little boy is growing up!"

"MOM!" I complained, "I'm not little!"

She laughed, and she helped me on the bench to wait for the bus. A few minutes later, the yellow-orange and white bus stopped in front of us, the doors hissing as they opened. I jumped down from the bench, and boarded. I smiled at the driver, who wasn't the usual one, gave him my fee money, and told him, "Reynolds's Elementary School for Gifted Children, on School Street." Then I sat down in the seventh seat. I turned to look out the window, and waved at my mom, who waved back.

There were two stops before the Reynolds's School one. There was only one person at the first stop, and at the second one, a group of kids from my school were getting on, along with a bunch of adults.

While the people from the second stop were getting on, roughly half the bus was getting off. I felt a prick in my arm, and glanced up in surprise. All I saw was a bald, dark-skinned man, with large black glasses. Then my vision started to go blurry. The man picked me up, and set me on my feet. He guided me off the bus. I tried to cry out, but no noise came out. My mouth felt numb, along with my arms and legs. The crowd of passengers getting off the bus hid me from the camera's view. I knew I was being kidnapped, and I couldn't do anything about it. My limbs grew heavier by the second. I stumbled down the stairs and onto the paved sidewalk, then was led into an alleyway.

My eyelids started to droop over my eyes, and however hard I fought against the sudden tiredness, I kept getting sleepier.

"Why isn't he asleep yet?" a female voice said, and I forced my eyes to open wider, focusing on her face. She was a pale-skinned, blonde-haired lady with green eyes.

"I'm not sure. The dosage was exactly what is needed for his body, "the man that kidnapped me said.

"Hm," the woman responded thoughtfully.

"May I add something?" another voice asked.

"Go ahead," the women said, turning to look to the right. I followed her glaze, and saw, to my shock, a tiny, glowing eagle, about 3 inches tall.

It opened its beak, and said, "There's a possibility that he has a strong resistance against toxins and medications in his blood."

"Should we give him more?" the man asked.

"That is not recommended," the eagle responded, while at the same time the lady said, "No."

I felt the drowsiness overwhelm me, and I tried to fight it anyhow. Darkness filled my vision, and I went out like a light.

I awoke in a room. I was laid out on a bed, with my clothes gone. My backpack, my spaceship model, everything. The only thing that kept my bare skin from the chilly air in the room was a thin sheet. I sat up, and wrapped the sheet around myself, shivering. I found a pair of black pants, and a black t-shirt, with black underwear. I picked them up, and a chain with two pieces of metal strung on it fell out.

I slipped the clothes on, threw the sheet back on the bed, and bent to pick the chain up. I attempted to understand what was written on the metal pieces, but the placement and order made no sense. The one just had an eagle on a ball, with a banner reading ECC around it. The second one read John-117, 3' 6" (1.06 m), 46 lbs (20 kg), ECC.

I decided not to worry about the metal pieces. I recalled that my mom had chains like this one, but those didn't have metal pieces on them, just little charms, like crosses and angels. She called them necklaces and wore them around her neck. I then, figuring that is what I was supposed to do, slipped the chain over my head. The chain was ice-cold against my neck. Slowly, it warmed up my body temperature.

I was still cold, and I wanted out of the room. I walked to the door in the white room, and it opened. A blast of even colder air hit me. I peered out. The hallway that the door led out into was circular and small blue lights lining the top every so many feet. I stepped out, my bare feet touching the metal. I forced myself to walk on the biting cold floor, feeling like my feet were burning with every step. I hurried along, stepping on my toes first, and then my heels to reduce how much skin came in contact with the metal.

Finally, I came to the end of the uninterrupted metal hallway. There was another door, one just like the one that I had used to get out of the room. It opened, just like the other one had, and I stepped through the entrance. This door led to a giant room, with a glass wall towards the ceiling. Behind the glass, were my kidnappers, along with many other adults, all who were watching me and the other kids in the room thoughtfully.

Many of the kids were sobbing, and clutching their feet. Some kids were sitting around, talking, while others sat or stood silently. Everyone was wearing identical black pants and shirts.

A few more kids came in through their respective doors, and then the woman who had been at my kidnapping cleared her throat.

"I am Dr. Catherine Halsey. I am the director of the program you have been recruited into. You have been called upon to serve, and you will be trained… you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies… and you will be loyal to the ECC," she said, pausing for a second, "There are 150 in total currently. There will be a selection process, through which only 75 will make it through. Then you will undergo augmentations, in which everyone has a 50% chance of living, leaving roughly 35. Those 35 will be the best soldiers the universe has ever seen. Let's hope you are one of them," she fell silent, raking her glaze over us. She seemed to linger for a moment when she looked at me. I wonder if she knew I recognized her. She spoke again, saying, "Your drill instructor is Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez. I expect you to follow his every order. Mendez, you may take them now."

One of the guys who had been guarding us stepped forward. "ALRIGHT RECRUITS! MARCH!" he yelled.

As if that was their cue, the rest of the guards started to herd us toward one of the doors. Anyone who resisted was poked with an electrocuting rod. We were being treated like dumb sheep! I was outraged by being forced about like this, but they had the superiority currently. They also had a means of coercing us to do what they wanted.

I made a decision. I'd let them think I was submissive for the first week or so, and then I'll fight back.

We were lead outside. The baby-blue summer sky was almost like that of Eridanus II, although the landscape was completely devoid of greenery. The red rocks stretched as far as I could see. Mountains rose up around us, some white-topped with snow. A river originating on what looked like the tallest mountain fed into a large, deep-blue lake, and the twin suns, one yellow and one white, radiated their light onto the planet. There was no shade anywhere. I had no clue where I was.

"Welcome to Reach," Mendez said in a whisper, and then bellowed, "NOW DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME 100 PUSHUPS!"

I had no clue what he meant, but I dropped to the ground. Mendez did this weird thing, where we held ourselves up with our hands and feet, and then bent our arms until they were at right angles. Next, we had to straighten our arms, and do it all over again. After forever, while I was shaking, covered in sweat, and about to collapse, Mendez shouted, "WATER BREAK!"

Some of the guards went inside the building, and came out with water bottles. The bottles were distributed around. Once I got mine, I gulped it down.

Mendez gave us a few minutes, and then called out, "100 SIT-UPS!"

He did another weird thing. He lay down on the dusty red earth with his knees bent, and sliding his hands across the ground until he could touch the back of his feet, and then returning to the laying-down-with-knees-bend position.

I copied his movements, and when he finally called out, "BREAK!" my belly was aching and the dusty soil was clinging to my sweat-soaked skin. My mouth was parched now, and by some means, some of the dust had gotten into my mouth. More water bottles were passed around, and once more I gulped mine down.

"NEXT UP, 5 MILE RUN!" Mendez bellowed after a minute or two. I ached all over; in places I never knew possible. I didn't know what time it was. My stomach protested with hunger. I got stiffly to my feet, and Mendez started to run. We followed behind. Everyone's backsides were covered in the red dust, and our clothes clung to our skin. The only sounds were our panting and the thumping of our feet on the rock. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears, louder than any exterior sounds. My throat was sore; with every breath it felt like sandpaper was rubbing against it. I had no clue how far 5 miles were, and I couldn't even count to a hundred yet.

Mendez led us around, and then we ended up at the building again. This time, however, it was a different part. The glowing eagle was there, standing at the door of a house-sized building just a little ways away from the main building, along with a blonde-haired lady wearing a funny-looking dress; it looked just like a bunch of white cloth with holes for her head and arms, with another green-colored cloth draped over her one shoulder, across her body diagonally. The lady was barefoot, and held a slab of stone with writing on it.

The lady motioned us inside, smiling. We gratefully ducked into the door, collapsing into the chairs attached to the desks inside. Once we were all inside, the lady walked to the front of the room. "I am the AI Athena," she said, then motioned to the eagle, and said, "and this is the AI Freedom. We'll be your teachers. Please pick your holopad from the front of the room. They are labeled with your name and number on it."

I got up, and went to the table with the holopads on it. I had used them in school before, so I already knew how to use them. I searched for my name, and came up with the holopad that said John-117. I now knew what the first engraved part of the one tag meant. It was my name and number.

I turned to go back to the seat I had been sitting in, one of the ones in the back row, only to find it to be occupied. The redheaded, freckled boy sat there with his arms crossed, holopad sitting on the desk in front of him.

I walked over, and stood next to him. "I believe that you are sitting in my seat," I said, calmly.

"What you gonna do 'bout it?" he said snottily.

"Well, that depends. Will you give my seat back to me, or will I have to take it back?"

He refused to budge. Another boy came up behind me and said in an odd accent, "Give 'em back his seat."

The redhead chuckled, "What you gonna do, Earth-born?"

The boy pushed me out of the way and punched the redhead in the nose. "That's what I'm going to do," he growled, "Don't ever call me Earth-born." Blood sprayed out of the redhead's nose, and the AI Athena said, "ENOUGH! Aaron-051, Jade-013, disciplinary actions with be taken. "

A group of medics entered, and escorted the redhead out. I took my seat back, and the boy who punched the redhead returned to his seat.

"Well, that's taken care of," Athena said, sighing, "I trust you are all hungry?"

"YES!" we shouted.

One of the guards brought in crackers and water. He distributed them, giving 5 crackers and a cup of water to each person. I was disappointed with the meager portions, but at least it was food. I nibbled on them, and when the girl next to me wasn't looking, I snatched one of hers. She looked confused when she next looked at her crackers, but seemed to assume that she already ate it.

"Please come up to the holotable," Athena said.

We did as told, and she projected what looked like mountains.

"This is Thermopylae, Greece. Here 300 warriors from the ancient city Sparta stood up against an army of unknown numbers from Persia."

As she spoke, the holotable projected 300 figures, in an ancient battle formation. In a space between the mountains, the Persians gathered. Their army was so much bigger... I wondered how those 300 soldiers felt while facing the much larger army. They must have been very brave... The Persians started to attack on the screen, and the Spartans defended. Soon, however, the Spartans were flanked from behind, and circled by the massive Persian force.

"The Spartans held up for 7 days before being defeated. In the end, the Spartans all died, but they took roughly 5x as many men's lives as they had originally," Athena told us.

We watched the last Spartan die, and then the holotable went blank.

"Return to your seats, please," Athena told us, "On your holopad, you will find a copy of the battle, and you homework for tonight.

I clicked mine to life. It scanned my eye, and then logged me in. A few icons were displayed on the screen, one of them labeled 'Homework' and another labeled 'Class Activities'. I clicked on the 'Homework' icon, and a calendar popped up, with the day's date highlighted. One assignment was listed there; questions that I had to answer about the holotable simulation. I went back to the home screen, and then I clicked on the 'Class Activities' icon. It led me to yet another calendar with the date highlighted, and listed there was a link to the holotable simulation.

"Recruits, Chief Petty Officer Mendez will escort you to recess," Athena told us.

Mendez stepped into the building. That made no sense. Recess? So far, all we've done was pushups, sit-ups, a five-mile run, and watched a simulation on a war. Recess didn't seem to fit into that equation.

"COME ON RECRUITS! TIME TO GO TO THE PLAYGROUND!" he bellowed.

We got up, expecting the worst. After all, we've already had a taste of what Mendez dishes out to 'recruits'.

We, of course, had to run to the 'playground'. The playground turned out to be in a small forest, hidden from the harsh suns behind a few of the mountains. It was basically a giant jungle gym, with ropes, ladders and bridges, platforms, climbing walls, and monkey bars, a bucket that you had to pull on a rope to lift with up with you inside it, poles, and a ton of other stuff. At the topmost point of the jungle gym was a bell.

"WELCOME TO THE PLAYGROUND!" Mendez shouted. I was starting to wonder if all he did was yell. "THE GOAL OF THIS EXERCISE IS TO BE THE FIRST TEAM TO RING THE BELL! YOU WILL BE PUT INTO TEAMS OF 3, AND THE LAST 5 TEAMS TO RING THE BELL WILL GO WITHOUT SUPPER!"

That wasn't good. My team better ring that bell first!

"HOWEVER, THE WINNING 3 TEAMS WILL ENJOY DESERT ALONG WITH THEIR SUPPERS!"

That sounded even better!

"LINE UP IN 3 ROWS!"

We did so. I ended up in between with the guy who had punched the redhead in the nose, and a girl I didn't know.

"WHOEVER IS TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT OF YOU IS YOUR TEAM!"

So I was in a team with a girl, and the 'Earth-born'.

The 'Earth-born' turned to look at me, and grinned. "So were on the same team, huh?"

"Guess so," I said.

"I'm Jade."

"John."

I turned to look at the girl, but she stayed stubbornly silent.

"ON THREE! ONE, TWO, MARK!"

I took off at a run, finding energy somehow, and started to climb up the jungle gym. I heard feet pounding behind me, and then I saw Jade on top of one of the platforms. He reached down, and I grabbed his hand. "She's holding the ropes," he said, referring to the girl.

"How'd you get up so quickly?" I asked.

He grinned, and jumped, grabbing onto the edge of the platform above us. He hauled himself over, and said, "That's how."

I copied him, surprised at how much faster it went, although it was kind of hard to do.

He ran towards the ropes, and sure enough, the girl was keeping everyone else away. Jade and I shot up them, and she followed behind. We now had 2 more platforms to go. The next one was too tall to jump and grab onto.

"Girl!" Jade said, crouching down, "Get on my back and hold on!"

She did so, and he stood up.

"Now grab the edge, and get up there. John, be ready to do the same!"

The girl was now up. Jade crouched down once more, and I climbed onto his back, and once more, he stood up.

Shit! I couldn't reach the edge, even with the added height! "I'm going to have to jump," I warned Jade.

"Just do it!"

I jumped. I reached for the platform edge. I missed. "SHIT!" I yelled as I fell. I saw the girl reach out and grab my arm. I came to an abrupt stop, slamming into the wooden pole holding the platform up. The girl pulled me up, and I hauled myself over the edge.

"Thanks," I said.

She nodded in response.

"I have an idea. You grab and hold my legs, and lower me over, so I can grab Jade."

She nodded again, and I crawled to the edge, and looked down at Jade. "We have a plan on how to get you up! Just trust us OK? " I called down.

"Ok!" he called back, seeming confident that we knew what we were doing.

"Ok. Just brace yourself against one of the poles, and don't let go of my feet," I told the girl.

She did so, and I moved slightly over the platform edge, just enough so my arms were hanging over.

"Jade! Try to climb that pole!" I said, pointing at the one closest to me.

"Alright!" he responded, going to the pole and starting to climb it. Every so often, his hand or foot would slip, and he'd have to try to regain purchase on the smooth wood.

I slithered a bit more over the edge. Now the platform was biting into my stomach, and the girl was starting to have to counterbalance my weight.

"I'm going to go over a bit more," I warned her, and then did so. Now, all of my upper body was dangling. My shirt slipped down my back.

"Jade! Grab my hand!" I called.

Jade reached up, and clenched his hand around my wrist. I grabbed his wrist with my other hand.

"Jade, let go on three," I said, and then called up to the girl, "ONE, TWO, THREE, PULL!"

I felt my self being dragged backwards, my ribs getting scraped and bruised. Jade tightened his grip, and let go of the pole. He swung his other hand upward, and grabbed a bit higher up my arm.

Soon, but not soon enough in my opinion, Jade let go of my arm, and instead grabbed the side of the platform. I still held his other hand. I was mostly on the platform, so I sat up, pulling Jade with me. He got his leg over, and then he was up.

"Let's go ring the bell!" Jade said, standing up. I stood up too, and then we took off towards the bell. One more platform to go, and then we would be victorious. We had already used precious seconds, and in that time, our opponent teams were catching up to us.

The next platform was low enough to jump up onto, and then we were at the bell. It shone in the dappled sunlight, and swayed slightly, although there was barely any wind.

"Which one of us should ring it?" Jade asked.

"How 'bout all of us?" I responded.

"Okay!"

We all grabbed the sting hanging down, and shook it back and forth. The bell rang a clear sound that seemed to fill the air. It felt great to be the first team to ring it!

"117, 013, AND 085!"

Oh… that didn't seem good. He didn't say if we were the winners, or if there was a trick we didn't know about.

"Does he want us to go down there?" Jade asked me in a whisper.

"I'm not sure. Probably… anyhow, everyone knows we won, so if we leave the bell it would be okay." I responded.

"Ya… OK, let's do it," Jade responded.

"Want to jump?" The girl asked, the first time she's spoken to us.

"Sure," Jade said.

"Three, two, one…" she whispered. We jumped off the top platform. The air rushed past me. It caught my clothes, and they billowed about. I panicked a bit, realizing how high I had jumped from. I thrashed my legs, trying to steady my decent. The air catching my clothes was messing with me. All too soon, I hit the ground. I rolled, and came to a stop at the foot of a nearby tree.

"Ooff!" I heard Jade say as he landed.

The girl landed softly on her feet.

I stood up, and dusted red dirt from my shirt. My previously pure black clothes were now stained with a burnt red and dark green, along with some of the original black.

"Hah! Someone rolled in grass and dirt!" Jade laughed.

"At least I'm original!" I responded.

The bell rang. I glanced up, to see another team starting their way down, however they were using the platforms to descend to the ground.

"034, 143, AND 102!"

"Let's go!" the girl cried.

We ran to Mendez. The bell rang again. Then it was rung again.

"091, 049, AND 129!"

"062, 051, AND 026!"

I started to sprint. I couldn't let the other teams win! I crossed the few feet between Mendez and myself, my teammates pounding behind me. I skidded to a stop, almost running straight into Mendez.

Jade and the girl stopped behind me.

"085. 013. 117," Mendez said, looking at each of us as he said the numbers.

I shifted slightly, embarrassed because of being the messiest recruit. Mendez kept his eyes on me, making me even more uncomfortable.

I noticed a hint of a smile creep across his usually stone-faced features.

"There's hope for you, Spartans."

I was slightly confused. Why did he call us Spartans? Those were the warriors who fought the Persians with only 300 people.

Jade seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he asked, "Spartans, sir? I thought we were recruits."

Mendez didn't elaborate. The bell started ringing like crazy.

"LINE UP IN THE ORDER YOU RANG THE BELL!" he bellowed.

There was a period of silence, and then the bell was rung again. A few seconds later, it was rung three more times.

There was some shuffling behind me, as the other teams lined up in order.

"LAST 5 GROUPS, STEPP AWAY FROM THE LINE!"

More shuffling.

"YOU MAY GO STRAIGHT TO THE BARRACKS!"

A DI escorted the losing teams away.

"THE REST OF YOU, COME WITH ME!"

With that, he started to walk back to the building. I followed behind.

By now, whatever had kept me going was gone. I was exhausted, and starving. Every single muscle ached. My feet felt leaden, and if today was a taste of what tomorrow was going to be like, I wasn't looking forward to it.

Somehow, I made it to where we were going.

"THIS IS THE MESS HALL!" Mendez told us, "HERE IS WHERE YOUR SUPPER WILL BE SERVED EVERYDAY! IF YOU NOT HERE BY 5:30 _AT THE LATEST_, YOU'LL GO WITHOUT! NOW GO EAT!"

I stepped inside the door, and grabbed the plate handed to me. I was so tired; I didn't even register what food I was eating. Once I finished, I brought the plate to the plate deposit, and left. A DI escorted me to the barracks, and I collapsed on the bed closest to the door. Within seconds, I was asleep.

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP!"

I sat up at the bellowing voice. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to remember where I was. It was completely unfamiliar and unwelcoming place.

"MOVE IT RECRUITS!"

My mind was still in a foggy daze. What time was it? It wasn't time to wake up, was it? Too early...

A jolt of electric shock zapped through my body.

It hurt like hell. I would have screamed, if I could get anything out of my mouth. My body convulsed, completely out of my control. Then I could feel nothing. It felt like I was outside my own body. From this strange perspective, I saw my own eyes roll backwards in their sockets, and my body convulsed one last time, and then went limp. That last convulsion had positioned my body on the edge of the bed, and now it fell to the ground with a thump.

The man with the electrocuting rod stared in shock. Mendez ran over, but from my point of view, seemed to be moving in slow motion. Mendez bent down.

"GET A MEDIC! HE HAS NO PULSE!" he yelled, but it was muffled.

No pulse? I thought, feeling groggy. Then I realized what that meant. I was dead. I couldn't be dead… No. I couldn't. Just couldn't. I wasn't dead.

Mendez started to do CPR, and soon, the medics rushed in. The other kids in the room were pressed against the wall, looking scared.

I didn't know what to do. Mendez was pushed aside, and one of the medics took over. After a few minutes, he shook his head.

"He's gone," he said, which sounded like a whisper to me.

NO! I screamed with all my mental might. I'M NOT DEAD! I CAN'T BE!

The medics picked my body up. NO! I cried, moving towards the medics, trying to tell them I wasn't dead. I felt a weird tingle, and then I was sucked back into my body.

YES! I did it! I was alive again! I coughed, and I had the worst headache of all time. The medics holding me dropped me in surprise. I hit the ground, and welcomed the pain that accompanied it. I was alive! I opened my eyes, and saw Mendez staring at me, along with the medics.

"Well I'd be…" the chief medic said, shaking his head in disbelief, "Looks like ya got one helluva fighter here, Senior Chief Petty Officer. Just came back from the dead, huh? Neva happened before in my career."

Mendez just nodded in response.

"Of course, we need to keep 'em for observation, just to make sure 'e's OK," the medic added.

Mendez nodded again.

The medics helped me onto my feet, and then led me to the infirmary.

"Well, guess we'll be having at least one patient per day the way ye Spartans are going," the chief medic told me as he assigned me a bed and entered me into the computer.

"Name?"

"John," I responded, then remembered Mendez called us by our numbers, so I hastily added, "117."

"Ah… ye know yur numbers? Makes my life easier. Last patient didn't en I had to search the entire database to find 'em. So, what do ye recall about the incident this mornin'?"

"I remember being shocked, and then nothing," I told him, careful not to tell him about the 'outside my own body' part.

"Ah. Well, yur heart stopped. No clue why."

"Really?"

"Yup. For a whole 7 minutes."

"Oh."

The medic hooked me up to some machines, and then asked, "So how'd first day go for ya?"

"Fine," I said, and then added with pride, "My team won."

"Really?"

"Yup. We were the first to ring the bell."

"Ah. So you're number one?"

"I'm not sure. Mendez doen't really explain..."

"Yup. That sounds like Mendez."

I settled down, and wondered what was going to happen today. If it was anything like yesterday, I was glad I was excused.


	2. Chapter 2

**JAI-006**

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

I sat up, and rolled off the bed. I still wore the clothes from yesterday. My stomach growled, reminding me of my cruel punishment. If only my teammates hadn't been slow, and that one hadn't sprained his ankle. Of course, we hadn't reported it. But we lost, fair and square.

But I was use to not eating. The streets had taught me somethings. If I hadn't been in that orphanage for the last few months, I would have been perfectly fine.

"MOVE IT RECUITS!"

Secretly, I wanted to go and shout in Mendez's face. But I feared the punishments. Usually I didn't feared anything, but Mendez scared me. I noticed one of the infamous winning team was moving groggily. A guard zeroed in on him, and zapped him with an electrocuting stick. Curiously, instead of just screaming or something, the guy convulsed. After about 30 second, he went limp. He reminded me of corpses I've seen on the streets, hidden in alleys, or out in the open. All I could see of his eyes were the whites.

Mendez ran across the room, and bent down. "GET A MEDIC! HE HAS NO PULSE!" he yelled.

I froze. The guy was dead? No one moved, not even the guards. Damn it! Why weren't the guards moving? The guy needed help! They had no helmets or earpieces, so they couldn't communicate that way. I made up my mind. If they weren't going to move, I would! Even if I didn't know where the infirmary was...

I jumped into a sprint. I guessed my way aroung the corridors, somehow finding the infirmary.

"MEDIC!" I screamed, bursting through the double doors.

About 10 sets of eyes turned to look at me.

"A guy... has no pulse... in barracks," I panted.

The medics jumped into action, grabbing equipment and rushing out the door.

I followed them back to the barracks. They filed through the door, and I stood back, staying out of the way. None of the guards had moved. Mendez was pushed aside, and the medics took over.

The Senior Chief Petty Officer seemed to notice that none of the other guards had moved. His brow furrowed in confusion, then reverted back to the stone-cut look.

"He's gone," one of the medics said, shaking his head. The other medics moved in to help carry the officially dead boy's body. They started to walk towards the door where I was standing, and suddenly the boy coughed.

What the? I asked myself. The guy was announced to be dead just a few seconds ago! The medics must have had a similar reaction, as they dropped him.

"Well I'd be…" the chief medic said, shaking his head in disbelief, "Looks like ya got one helluva fighter here, Senior Chief Petty Officer. Just came back from the dead, huh? Neva happened before in my career. Of course, we need to keep 'em for observation, just to make sure 'e's OK," the medic added.

The medics helped him onto his feet, and then led him away.

"ALRIGHT!" Mendez said, obviously slightly shaken, "GET MOVING!"

The barracks erupted into a flurry of movement. Mendez turned around and noticed me, standing by the door.

"What the?" he said, looking at me, confusion written across his features, "What are you doing there?"

I shifted, unsure what to tell him. "I ran and got the medics, sir," I told him, straightening.

He gave me a sharp nod, accepting my answer. He then cocked his head. "Did you even know where the infirmary was?"

"No sir."

He grunted. I wondered what he was thinking.

"You'll make a good scout," he told me, then walked out the door.

Scout? What did he mean by that? This place was shroud with mysteries. And I suspected that we'd never learn most of them.


	3. Author's Note 1

**Author's Note:**

I get writer's block pretty easily, so if you are reading this story, I might take a while to update. PLEASE REVIEW! I'd love your feedback! Constructive criticism is appreciated, along with new ideas! Thanks! Hope you like the story so far!

_~Spartan117FreelancerWashington_


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